Does anyone have a Metro-shelf based reloading bench?

[yhtomit]

a) Note, I'm a big fan of Metro-style shelves; these are the modular metal shelving units (wire shelves, with round corners that slide over and are attached to notched metal poles) often seen in stores, warehouses, commercial kitchens and such, and I suspect in a great many THR readers' basements and garages. The shelves are immensely strong, and a well-loaded Metro shelf is *very* stable.

b) I know that they're not made of 4x4s and depleted uranium, but I have found metro-type shelves amendable to many uses, and I'm thinking about using a half-height unit (that is 36h x 18d x48w, or something very close to that) as the basis for a reloading bench.

I wonder if anyone out there has done this, and if so, I'm seeking both general tips on how you made it work to your liking and specifically how you created a good surface on which to clamp a press. I have some rectangular pieces of 1/2" pine a bit larger than the press's base which I think will work (one over, one under) to create a sufficiently solid foundation.

One reason I'm interested in using Metro parts (rather than creating a worktable of heavy wood -- which *is* something I want to eventually construct anyhow) is that I have plenty of Metro-shelf wheels, so I can make a bench that gets easily stashed out of sight when not being used.

So: any ideas on the best way to go about this?

I have pored through several threads full of reloading bench photos, and don't recall noticing any like this, but that may just be because I missed it. If anyone has a picture of a setup like the one I'm describing (half height shelf, 48" width) or even using a similar system, I'd really like to see it.

Cheers,

timothy

 

[wolfe28]

Just a thought

My wife and I have a few of these shelves, one as a rack in the kitchen for the nuk-a-tron 9000 (microwave), toaster oven, home canned jelly, jam, salsa, etc; as well as one being used as an entertainment center and one as a cookbook rack and wine shelf (we are die-hard foodies). Anyway, they make 3/8" wooden inserts that fit perfectly on the racks, making the shelves much more useful for smaller things. You could get one of those inserts, use it as a template to cut out a thicker shelf, or glue and bolt 2 together and then just secure it to the wire rack and run with it. As long as you had something heavy on the bottom, it should work great.
Good Luck,
D

p.s. Where in Pennsylvania, I've got family in central PA?

 

[yhtomit]

wolfe28:

Thanks! I've seen those wooden inserts, but had forgotten about 'em. Those shelves really are great in the kitchen, aren't they? An instant vertical pantry (if you have the tall kind), and an instant "island" if it's the waist-high kind.

In PA: I'm an accidental transplant, having grown up in MD and lived several other states since 1993 (TX, TN, FL, WA, VA ... more, too, and some repeats -- completely boring stories behind each move). My mom moved to Harrisburg a few years back (my great aunt lives there, really needs someone around for her), and I got into Temple Law (in Philadelphia), to which I'd applied partly as a lark -- I'd expected to go to school in Texas instead. So Harrisburg is where my real bed is and credit card bills go, and Philly is tolerable as a place to get some book larnin'.

Cheers,

timothy